Resources

This report is based on rich interviews and engagement with movement technologists, organizers, researchers, and policy advocates about what liberation from surveillance and criminalization can actually look like. Astraea and Research Action Design (RAD) created this report as a resource for funders to understand what is at stake and what opportunities exist to support critical organizing at the intersections of decriminalization and technology. Throughout this report, you will read about surveillance, carceral technologies, criminalization, and policing. In some instances, we speak about these practices in tandem, and, in others, we hone in on one to provide deeper insight, but please bear in mind that these processes and practices—and their consequences—are inextricably linked.

A database containing several thousand data points on over 3,000 city and local police departments and sheriffs’ offices nationwide, allows citizens, journalists, and academics to review details about the technologies police are deploying, and provides a resource to check what devices and systems have been purchased locally. Built using crowdsourcing and data journalism over the last 18 months, the Atlas of Surveillance documents the alarming increase in the use of unchecked high-tech tools that collect biometric records, photos, and videos of people in their communities, locate and track them via their cell phones, and purport to predict where crimes will be committed.

The Advisory Circular is a network of twitter bots posting in real-time whenever they detect aircraft flying in circles over cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Baltimore, Portland, Minneapolis, and London. Because they use an uncensored source of data, the bots also record police, FBI, DHS, DEA, CBP, and military aircraft. They look for circles because it means an aircraft is doing something instead of going somewhere. If you’ve ever asked “what is that helicopter/plane?” there’s a good chance these bots can answer your question—even if it’s an advanced military surveillance plane.

A report from Grassroots Leadership, Just Futures Law, and Mijente that documents the rise of surveillance technology use in Austin, Texas. This report looks at the relationship and links between tech companies, city projects, and increases in policing and surveillance of Austin residents. Authors analyze local policing initiatives like the Austin Regional Intelligence Center and note contracts held by local law enforcement agencies with tech companies. They also note the collaboration between local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and how tech companies bolster this collaboration, leading to deportations and further erosion of Austin’s Black, Latinx, and immigrant residents. The authors also present advocacy demands for this issue.

Facial Recognition can be used to identify people in photos, videos, and in real time, and is usually framed as more efficient and accurate than other forms of identity verification. Schools have also begun to use it to track students and visitors for a range of uses, from automating attendance to school security. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that it will erode individual privacy and disproportionately burden people of color, women, people with disabilities, and trans and gender non-conforming people. In this report, authors focus on the use of Facial Recognition in schools because it is not yet widespread and because it will impact particularly vulnerable populations. On the basis of this analysis, the authors strongly recommend that use of Facial Recognition be banned in schools. They have also offered some recommendations for its development, deployment, and regulation if schools proceed to use the technology.

This is the first of a series of reports on the performance of face recognition algorithms on faces occluded by protective face masks commonly worn to reduce inhalation of viruses or other contaminants. This report documents accuracy of algorithms to recognize persons wearing face masks.

A resource that defines and explains certain surveillance mechanisms and tools used by the Los Angeles Police Department.

A collection of resources from STOP NYC to help guide difficult decisions on how to balance the need for both public health and personal privacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes efforts to critically evaluate the efficacy of monitoring and enforcement, and loudly advocating for the preservation of civil liberties.

What military equipment has your local police, sheriff or game warden received from the Pentagon? Click the dropdown on this resource to select your state and start sifting through the newly released data from the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1033 program.